In 1993, the Discovery Channel aired a six-hour miniseries documenting the experience of the Native Americans during America's westward expansion. Peter Kater
created a three-hour score for How the West Was Lost
. He captured 65 minutes of his favorites for the CD. His friend R. Carlos Nakai
co-wrote many of the pieces and is one of the featured musicians. This is deep, soulful, and mournful music. Kater
celebrate nothing. They lament the loss of culture and heritage. This is a unique perspective on a topic that is often glamorized. There have been at least two similar documentaries with equally mournful soundtracks. The West and 500 Nations
are comparable CDs.